Water in the trunk....and everywhere else.
12-29-2003, 12:55 PM
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Water in the trunk....and everywhere else.
The other day it rained all afternoon with the 98 prelude sitting out in the driveway. Before we've had problems with water getting into the trunk, this time it got the whole interior. It looks like the water was coming in the left side tail light, just pouring in. Maybe the gasket wasn't sealed correctly? This is my brothers car and he has switched from the stock lights to the clear ones, then back to stock and has had problems with water ever since he first put the clear ones in.
The damage: Water everywhere. The spare tire area looked like a pond and there was standing water in the trunk. Back seat was soaked, we removed it and the foam padding underneath probably weighed 50lbs. All of the part of the rear seat we removed was soaked, as well as the rear carpet had about 1 inch of standing water. Luckily it was parked facing uphill, otherwise the front would have really been bad. Enough water did get to the front to soak the floormats though.
I'm guessing it was the gasket, we dried everything out and I caulked the crap out of all the rear gaskets where we found the water to be flowing in, but haven't tried it out yet. What's strange to me is that with the trunk closed the water actually flows out of the car on the inside of the bumper rather than channeling out the rear where the silver "prelude" letters are spelled out. Instead it takes the water around the back of the taillight and sends it straight down on the inside of the bumper. You can see this if you pull on the trunk weatherstrip near the tail lights..
Anyone else have this mess and any solutions to it?
Thanks, Mike
The damage: Water everywhere. The spare tire area looked like a pond and there was standing water in the trunk. Back seat was soaked, we removed it and the foam padding underneath probably weighed 50lbs. All of the part of the rear seat we removed was soaked, as well as the rear carpet had about 1 inch of standing water. Luckily it was parked facing uphill, otherwise the front would have really been bad. Enough water did get to the front to soak the floormats though.
I'm guessing it was the gasket, we dried everything out and I caulked the crap out of all the rear gaskets where we found the water to be flowing in, but haven't tried it out yet. What's strange to me is that with the trunk closed the water actually flows out of the car on the inside of the bumper rather than channeling out the rear where the silver "prelude" letters are spelled out. Instead it takes the water around the back of the taillight and sends it straight down on the inside of the bumper. You can see this if you pull on the trunk weatherstrip near the tail lights..
Anyone else have this mess and any solutions to it?
Thanks, Mike
12-29-2003, 07:54 PM
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A little chin music
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Well, sorry I can't help you with the water removal problem, but I can give you a friendly word of advice. Do not attempt to repair the tail lamp assemblies. Unfortunately, and people have to learn the hard way much too often with Hondas, they are not made to be taken appart and alternative lamps or "clear" parts installed. Even people who change them to altezzas with parts desiged to fit right run into leak problems. I can advise you that the only sure way to repair the tails is to buy brand new lamp assemblies from Honda. Not aftermarket, not used, but brand new OEM assemblies with Honda part and stock numbers from a genuine Honda dealer. Yes, they will be expensive (I'd estimate about 200-300.00 each), but that is the only way to insure you have tight seals and no leaks again. They are a sealed assembly at the factory, and they are not sold or replaced in pieces for a reason.
